Chapter 228: 180 Million

Gu Zhiyu curled his lips into a smile. “I don’t dare to live off a woman—I’m afraid my wife will leave me.”

An Nan laughed and playfully punched him. “Smooth talker!”

Then she sniffed. “Hot pot tonight?”

Gu Zhiyu replied, “Yeah, Long Cong’an sent me over with a bunch of fresh vegetables for you.”

An Nan asked, “How’s he been lately?”

Gu Zhiyu said, “Pretty good. He’s been at home every day, working on indoor farming.”

An Nan glanced at the vegetables. “Looks like he’s doing well.”

Gu Zhiyu smiled. “Perfect for hot pot.”

Then he added, “The water’s already boiling, the meat’s sliced, and the veggies will be ready in a sec. Go change your clothes and get ready to eat.”

As a die-hard hot pot lover, An Nan happily skipped off to her room to change.

Once she came out, she turned the air conditioner down a bit and sat at the table.

The pot was a divided “yuan-yang” style: one side spicy beef tallow, the other a mushroom broth.

Humming a tune, An Nan dipped a chopstickful of lamb into the spicy side.

Gu Zhiyu mixed her dipping sauce for her. “You’re in a good mood today?”

An Nan took the sauce. “Mm-hmm.”

Gu Zhiyu said, “Looks like things went smoothly.”

An Nan nodded. “Very smoothly!”

Not just smoothly—her space had leveled up a lot, too.

Seeing her in such high spirits, Gu Zhiyu’s mood lifted as well.

He was just about to take out the gift he’d prepared while she was happy, when he suddenly noticed her wrist.

“An’an, did you change your bracelet?”

“Huh?” An Nan was startled, then realized the bangle on her wrist had a new touch of green.

She nodded. “Yeah. Got tired of the old one, so I switched it up.”

Gu Zhiyu glanced at her neck. “Not wearing your necklace today either?”

She used to wear it every day.

An Nan replied a little awkwardly, “Yeah. Got tired of that too.”

Gu Zhiyu smiled. “Perfect timing. Here, this is for you.”

He handed over the gift he’d prepared.

An Nan was surprised. “What’s this?”

Gu Zhiyu: “Open it and see.”

An Nan put down her chopsticks and opened the box. Inside was a sparkling diamond necklace.

The centerpiece was a 100-carat, heart-shaped blue diamond, surrounded by a cluster of high-clarity one-carat diamonds. At first glance, the blue gem looked like it was cradled in a flurry of snowflakes.

An Nan was stunned.

It was gorgeous—almost unbelievably so!

She’d cleaned out every jewelry store in the city, but she’d never seen a necklace this beautiful.

Gu Zhiyu stood up and walked over to her. “Try it on.”

As he helped her put it on, he explained, “This necklace is called ‘Heart of Ice and Snow.’ I bought it at a jewelry exhibition a few years ago. Originally, I got it as an investment, but I never expected it would find its true owner now.”

He stepped back and looked her over, admiring how the necklace looked on her.

“Beautiful.”

It made her skin look even more flawless, her whole aura more elegant.

An Nan touched the necklace at her throat and walked over to the mirror.

Her eyes lit up. “It really is beautiful.”

‘Heart of Ice and Snow’—the name fit perfectly.

Gu Zhiyu hugged her from behind. “As long as you like it. It suits you.”

This necklace was so dazzling that on anyone else, the person would just be a backdrop for the jewelry. But on An Nan, it never stole the show.

An Nan smiled, accepting the gift with confidence.

“Thank you, boyfriend.”

Gu Zhiyu grinned. “You’re welcome, girlfriend.”

The two of them sat back down to eat hot pot.

As An Nan dipped more veggies, she commented offhandedly, “This necklace doesn’t look any cheaper than that jade one.”

Gu Zhiyu put a couple pieces of lamb in her bowl. “That’s right.”

An Nan asked curiously, “Is it eighty million too?”

Gu Zhiyu: “About that.”

An Nan nodded and popped the lamb in her mouth.

Gu Zhiyu added, “This one was 180 million.”

An Nan nearly choked on her food. “How much?!”

“One hundred and eighty million.”

Gu Zhiyu nodded.

An Nan’s mouth twitched.

Eighty million and 180 million—how is that ‘about’ the same?

That’s a difference of a hundred million!

Suddenly, her neck felt heavy. How many houses could she be wearing around her neck right now?

An Nan frowned slightly. “That’s way too valuable…”

Gu Zhiyu replied, “Not really.”

An Nan: “How is it not?”

Gu Zhiyu explained, “Before the disaster, maybe it was worth something. But now, you can’t eat it, you can’t drink it, and it can’t even buy you a month’s worth of food.”

He paused, then added, “If it makes you happy to wear it, then it’s worth something.”

An Nan’s face grew a little warm. “You really do know how to talk.”

Gu Zhiyu pressed his lips together. “I mean it.”

An Nan thought for a moment, then asked, “It’s not a holiday or anything—why are you giving me a gift all of a sudden?”

Gu Zhiyu looked at her. “To make you happy.”

He set down his chopsticks and said seriously, “An’an, I’ve thought about it. Maybe what I said yesterday put pressure on you.”

An Nan opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn’t know how to explain.

Gu Zhiyu continued, “You don’t need to feel pressured, and you don’t have to be unhappy. If you think our relationship is moving too fast, or if you feel like I’m overstepping and making you uncomfortable, I’ll be more careful from now on.”

Seeing how serious he was, An Nan pressed her lips together.

He was really so good to her.

So good that she didn’t know what to do with herself.

“Gu Zhiyu, I’m not upset. I just had some things to take care of today, that’s why I didn’t bring you along.”

She added, “You don’t have to overthink it. This is my first time being in a close relationship with someone, so I might not always do things perfectly…”

Before she could finish, Gu Zhiyu’s eyes widened slightly. “Your first time?”

An Nan didn’t catch on. “Huh?”

Gu Zhiyu repeated, “You said this is your first close relationship?”

An Nan nodded. “Yeah.”

Gu Zhiyu: “Didn’t you say you had an unforgettable ex-boyfriend…”

What unforgettable ex?

An Nan couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t have an ex-boyfriend. I just made that up.”

Gu Zhiyu picked up his chopsticks in silence. “Don’t make things up like that again.”

After a while, he smiled and put some more food in An Nan’s bowl. “Eat up.”

Seeing how his smile nearly reached his ears, An Nan couldn’t help but laugh.

He’s really that happy?

The mood between them lightened. Neither of them brought up yesterday again, and they finished their hot pot, chatting and laughing.

After they were full, they scooped the leftover meat and veggies from the pot, rinsed them in clean water, and poured them into bowls for Fugui and Master Rabbit.

Watching Fugui wolf down his food, An Nan scratched her head. “I feel like I’m forgetting something…”

Gu Zhiyu thought for a moment. “I don’t think so?”

Fugui, who was busy eating, glanced up at them slyly but said nothing.

That night, back in the bedroom, An Nan suddenly sat up in bed.

“I remember now!”"